Halloween Hijinx  Part II
by Amber Skye
Summary: Vegeta doesn't like Halloween to begin with, but when he finds out what Trunks wants for a costume this year, he's going to hate it even more...


"Dad, can I, please?"

Vegeta blinked without replying and set down the mocha-flavored ultra-men's protein shake he had been chugging after his workout. He looked down at his son, who was usually a very serious eight-year-old, now suddenly wide-eyed and near to bursting with anticipation.

"It's gonna be so cool if me and Goten can go together, so can I, please please huh?"

Vegeta swiped at his forehead with the towel around his neck and sighed. "Go to what, exactly?"

"Trick or treating! Goten's dad is going to take him to _two _neighborhoods this year," Trunks stressed the word with two fingers suddenly shoved in his father's face, "And there's even one house that gives out Mega Bars and hot chocolate. It's gonna be so awesome, and we have the super best ideas for costumes! So can I go?"

His patience wearing thin as quickly as ever, Vegeta put a hand up to stop the incessant begging. "I need to think about it and talk to your mother first."

That didn't seem to deflate Trunks any. "I know, Mom already said it was okay as long as I asked you."

"What?" Vegeta roared. He glared at his son, knowing even as he did so that he probably shouldn't, that it wasn't Trunks' fault Bulma had gotten his hopes up.

Under the uncomfortable-but-familiar scrutiny, Trunks immediately quieted.

"Go to your room," Vegeta said.

"But I didn't do anything—"

"Go to your room and wait there!" Vegeta repeated. "I need to speak with your mother."

Trunks took off up the stairs, clearing them four at a time.

Bulma was in the den. She had pulled out the sewing machine and was hemming something. It was not the sort of thing she did often. Normally she would spend her spare time at the workbench in the garage, tinkering with the numerous gadgets and hardware from the Capsule Corporation.

He watched her from the doorway for a moment, seeing her face crinkled in concentration as she tried to get the fabric to line up properly. It was cute the way her tongue poked out between her lips, and seeing her so deeply focused made his anger fade. A little.

Shaking his head to dislodge the affectionate thoughts, Vegeta stomped forward. "What is this nonsense Trunks is asking about?"

Her concentration broken by the sudden outburst, Bulma jolted in the chair and the sewing machine came to a sudden halt. She looked up and met his glare with one of her own. "Can you announce your presence without scaring me next time?" He nose crinkled in disapproval as she took in his sweat-stained outfit and she caught a whiff of his…manly odor. "And take a _shower_ please when you're done in the training capsule. Jeez."

"I was going to," he replied, "When our son started begging me about trick or treats."

"Oh yes!" Bulma brightened. "I kept meaning to mention it to you. Halloween is this Saturday, and he wants to go around the neighborhood with Goten."

"You already told him he could go?"

"Well sure," Bulma shook the fabric out and held it up to inspect the seam. "All kids go trick-or-treating, and they're certainly old enough. Frankly I'm surprised they hadn't asked to go before now."

"But you told him yes before you asked me."

Now she stopped what she was doing and gave him a pointed look. "I didn't see any reason why you would say no."

"It's ridiculous!"

"Vegeta, if you don't want to dress up or anything for Halloween, that's fine, I can understand. You didn't exactly have a good experience with it last year at the office party." Bulma ignored him as he opened his mouth to argue, and continued, "But that's no reason why Trunks shouldn't have fun with it. His best friends are going, of course he's going to want to participate. And I see nothing wrong with that."

"Regardless, you can't just tell him yes without…" Vegeta trailed off as he saw exactly what it was she was holding. "What the hell is _that_?"

Bulma looked up at him cheerily. "It's his costume!" She turned it so he could get a better view. "Now, I'm no seamstress, but I think it came out pretty well, don't you?"

Dangling in front of his eyes was a bright orange martial arts jumpsuit, complete with blue trim and the white logo on its back.

He snatched it away from her, wrinkling the material in his fists. "This is Kakkarot's clothing!"

"I know, it's so cute, he wanted to dress up as Goku for trick-or-treats."

"Are you telling me—that _my_ son—wants to be Kakkarot?"

She answered slowly. "For Halloween…yes."

He slammed the orange material down on the sewing desk - gently, so the table only jumped a little bit instead of splintering. "Absolutely not."

It was then that Bulma's attitude instantly changed, and Vegeta knew he was in for it. Her eyelids slid halfway shut and her lips tightened, a familiar look of displeasure that adults sometimes gave children who were being difficult. "Really? Just because you don't like the costume he chose?"

Suddenly Vegeta found himself flustered. He always seemed to find himself flustered when Bulma used that kind of tone. Everything he ever thought made perfect sense – until she threw that tone of voice at him. "It's insulting!" he argued, but he could hear his voice starting to flounder.

"What's insulting is _your_ petty jealousy," she grabbed the costume back and shook it at him. "You know, when Trunks first told me what he wanted his costume to be, the thought crossed my mind for just an instant that you wouldn't like it. But I told myself, 'No, Bulma, you're just being silly. Vegeta is more mature than that now, he'll be fine with it.'" She glared at him. "I give you the benefit of the doubt, and you just love to prove me wrong, don't you?"

Vegeta knew he shouldn't still be arguing, that he shouldn't push the issue any farther than he already had, but he couldn't stop himself. It was too infuriating. "My son is applying hero worship to my rival."

"Why shouldn't he?" Bulma shot back without missing a beat. "Goku has saved earth several times, he works hard, he's got values and morals, optimism, and quite frankly I think he's a great role model for Trunks to look up to."

Vegeta almost started sputtering. Almost. He managed to clamp his mouth shut at the last second.

Bulma took advantage of his self-control to have the last word. "There's nothing wrong with Trunks's choice of a Halloween costume. He can dress up like whoever or whatever he wants." She began folding the costume neatly. "And you better not have a problem with it, because you're taking him Trick-or-Treating."

For a moment, Bulma enjoyed the spectacle of Vegeta's eyes widening in shock - not something that happened often. "What?" he demanded, "Why can't you take him?"

"We've got a tech meeting with the heads of the departments at the company. So I won't be home until late."

"I can't take him!"

"You can, and you will." Bulma had figured out not too long ago that all she had to do was be firm, and Vegeta would do what he was told. It was a bit like dealing with a child sometimes, really. "Don't worry, you won't have to deal with the kids all by yourself." She smiled sarcastically and delivered the last crushing blow. "Goku will be there, too."

* * *

><p>As the dreaded Saturday night trick-or-treating session approached, Vegeta retreated to the training capsule. Turning up the gravity and wailing away at the weighted punching bag helped him forget that he was going to have to spend the evening with Kakkarot and a son who was dressed like Kakkarot. At least until the door burst open.<p>

"Dad! Dad, look! I—whoa." Trunks dashed into the room before realizing how high the gravity was. To his credit, he only doubled over for a moment, and while his left knee wobbled and nearly touched the ground, he managed to catch his balance in time and never actually fell forward. After a moment of re-orienting himself, Trunks managed to straighten his knees and draw himself back up to stand normally.

"Dad, check it out, my costume's all done!" He puffed out his chest and struck a pose, arms outstretched to show off the entire outfit.

Bulma had done an excellent job. From the orange training vest down to the wristbands and boots, Trunks was dressed as a perfect miniature replica of Goku.

"See, I look just like him." Trunks pumped both fists in front of him, excited. "So are you ready to go, Dad? Can we meet up with Goten and go trick-or-treating now?"

Vegeta's eye twitched a bit. Without a word, he turned away from his son to face the punching bag. He narrowed his eyes until his vision was reduced to a blur. The weighted bag in front of him dissolved into a formless blob. For just that moment, the Saiyan prince pretended that the shape in front of him was Goku, with his dopish face and happy-go-lucky grin.

Vegeta hauled his foot back, and launched a horrendous kick to the punching bag Goku's head.

It snapped back on its swing hinge so violently that the chain snapped. With a nasty crack, the bag cratered into the far wall and fell, permanently bent in half and leaking its compressed stuffing all over the gym floor.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, Vegeta turned his back on the mess. "All right. Now we can go."

Trunks grabbed his hand and began pulling eagerly. "Come on, Dad, they're waiting."

With a snort, Vegeta allowed himself to be led towards the street where Goku was waiting to meet them. So focused on how annoyed he was, Vegeta almost missed it at first. When he finally did register it, however, he stopped in his tracks and left Trunks tugging uselessly on his arm.

Standing beside his father was Goten – dressed as a perfect miniature version of Vegeta.

His black hair was spiked just right so that none of the messy strands poked out sideways. They were all slicked up and back, streamlined and exact. He wore a full blue bodysuit covered by the tan and white armor of the Saiyans, white gloves and white boots.

Trunks dashed up and fished something out of his candy bucket. He held it out to Goten. "Here, my Mom finished it, just like she said!" It was a small replica scouter, with a red eye screen – just like the one Vegeta had used when he first arrived on earth.

"Oh cool!" Goten held the scouter up with reverence to admire it, then settled it over his ear and looked at Trunks. "How does it look?"

"Awesome. And guess what? Mom even made it light up. Press the button on the side." Trunks tapped the side of the scouter over Goten's ear, and the device began to blink and beep.

"Super cool!" Goten played with the button for several more seconds before he was satisfied that it was, indeed, very cool.

While their sons continued to rave over each others costumes and get themselves considerably worked up, Goku greeted Vegeta with his typical wave and irritating grin. "Hey, Vegeta! Wow, Bulma did a great job with the costume for Trunks. I think it might be even better than the one I had at his age. Isn't it cute, the two of them dressing up as you and me?"

Vegeta was still staring at Goten, not quite sure how he felt about this sudden development. He supposed, in a way, it was…flattering. "Oh, sure. Cute. Of course."

Oblivious to his fellow Saiyan's uncertainty, Goku gave Vegeta a friendly – but considerably hard, because, quite frankly, the idiot didn't know his own strength – slap on the shoulder. "This'll be fun, eh? Some good old fashioned male bonding, just you, me and the boys!"

The prince narrowed his eyes, a glare that was visible even in the evening semi-darkness. "Touch me again, Kakkarot, and I'll send you back to your wife in a bodybag."

The boys had moved on from gawking over the costumes to gawking over Goten's hair. "Aww," Trunks was suddenly complaining, "My Mom didn't do my hair. She just left it normal."

Goten swelled a little bit, and shook his head to emphasize his new Vegeta-do. "Isn't it cool? It took a long time, but Mom sprayed it with a bunch of junk, and now it's all stiff and doesn't move!"

"Neat!" Trunks reached up a hand to touch it. It crackled under his fingers.

Goten struck a pose and roughened his voice in the best way a child can. "Do not touch me, commoner. I am Vegeta, Prince of all the Saiyans!"

"Oh yeah, well I'm Goku, defender of Earth, and I challenge you to a fight. If I win, I get to be the _new_ Prince of the Saiyans."

Sounding honestly curious, Goku turned to Vegeta. "Hey, can they do that in Saiyan culture? Pick a fight, and whoever's strongest gets to be the leader?"

Vegeta snorted. "Of course not."

The boys didn't care about Saiyan culture, though. They launched into sparring match, calling taunts to each other as they exchanged good-natured punches and kicks, and even loosing a few low-energy blasts.

Goten sent a fist at his opponent's stomach, but Trunks caught and held it with a smirk. "You can't defeat me, I'm the strongest fighter on Earth!"

"Well I'm the strongest in the whole universe," Goten taunted back, grasping Trunk's free hand with his own and grappling. Somehow he managed to twist the older boy down to the ground, then pin him with his foot in the small of his back. "Ha! Goku is defeated!"

Watching the spectacle, Vegeta wasn't sure if he should be happy that 'Vegeta' had won, or upset because Trunks had lost.

Trunks was wriggling on the ground in faux pain. "Gaah! I surrender, I surrender!" But the instant Goten pulled his foot away, Trunks thrust out his palm and aimed an energy blast. "Not!"

Goku leaned towards Vegeta's ear. "Ooooh, that was a cheap shot I just pulled on you. Sorry, buddy."

As he realized his opponent's treachery, Goten flung his hands up to block, but was a split second too late. The little beam of light caught him in the face, leaving his cheeks and nose charred. But even worse, the blast caught his hair, and with an audible _flump_, it fell from its perfect spike back into normal disarray.

Trunks's eyes widened. "Uh-oh."

Goten felt the sudden change and lifted his own hands to feel. "You ruined it!" His lower lip began to tremble.

"I'm sorry!" Trunks blurted, but by then it was too late. Goten plopped down on the ground and started wailing.

Vegeta sighed inwardly. They hadn't even started towards the first house and already there was drama. It was going to be a long night, especially if he had to listen to Goten's horrendous crying.

"Whoops, time to intervene I guess," Goku gave Vegeta a shrug and knelt at his son's side. "Hey now, it's okay, Goten."

"It was an accident," Trunks tried to explain.  
>"It's all right," Goku replied, "I know it was."<p>

Goten cried all the harder. "I—wuh-wuh-wanna—look—like—Vegeeeeeeeeetaa!" The last few syllables drew out into an even higher-pitched shriek.

"You do," Goku said. "You still look just like him in your costume – even more with the singed face. It's like battle scars!"

Goten could not be consoled. "It's n—n—not the same if I don't—don't have the h—h—hair!"

Vegeta was certain that the crying was going to give him a migraine if it didn't stop in the next few minutes.

"Okay, buddy, okay," Goku patted his son's shoulder repeatedly and stood him up. "Let's go back home for a couple minutes, maybe Mom can fix it up again—"

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Vegeta stomped forward, leaned down, and jabbed the tip of his finger into Goten's forehead. There was a flash of narrow light, and a good-sized spark of electricity coursed through the little boy's body. For a second he went completely rigid. Then Vegeta pulled his hand away and Goten thumped back down on the sidewalk, his body still popping with a few bursts of extra electricity.

One of Goku's eyes was squinted strangely, and appeared to be twitching. "Did you…? Vegeta, did you just shock my kid?"

"His hair's fine now, so let's go already. I didn't come out here to listen to him cry all night."

It was true. The jolt of electric energy had caused Goten's hair to spike straight upwards, and it now looked just as it had when they first arrived.

Curious, Trunks pushed a hand experimentally against Goten's hair. The strands bent down a bit, but then snapped stubbornly right back up as soon as he released the pressure. "All right, Dad!" Trunks said, grinning.

The tears suddenly gone, Goten stood up and pulled at his hair himself. It bounced back up, still stiff from the shock and with no sign that the effect would wear off anytime soon. "Cool!" he said. He snatched up his candy bucket and faced Trunks. "Maybe it'll stay like this all week now!"

On some unseen cue, the two boys took off together down the street, heading for the nearest lighted house.

"Wow, I guess he's fine," Goku mused as they started off after their children. "Although I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that again, Vegeta."

Vegeta huffed. "He's half Saiyan. He can handle more than that, I'm sure."

"Hey, how'd you know to fix it that way, anyhow?" The idiotic grin was back on Goku's face, and behind it, some good-humored mischief. He reached for Vegeta's hair. "Did you get shocked when you were a baby, and that's why your hair's stiff all the—"

The prince clamped a fist around Goku's hand before it could get any closer to his head. "A bodybag, Kakkarot. I wasn't kidding."

* * *

><p>Author's Notes: Hi everybody, I'm back with a quick update. Hope you all enjoy, Happy Halloween!<p> 


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